The public enquiry for the SAGE ELLE-ISOLE-LAITA opens on 2^nd March...

IT IS RELEVANT TO US ALL  !!!!!

The SAGE (master plan for water development and management) for the Ellé, Isole and Laïta river basin is nearly complete. Before it is finalised and comes into effect, we have one month during which we can voice our opinion at the public enquiry.

Our daily life, our very survival is totally dependant on our water supply. It follows that this master plan is highly relevant to us, and we should all go and ensure our voice is heard at the enquiry.

The SAGE will set for several years to come the way in which the water supplies in our region will be managed. It is designed to create a balance between economic activities and the protection of the natural aquatic environment, in compliance with legal requirements.

In this part of the world, we have no shortage of water in our rivers and their tributaries and the wealth of their vegetation and animal life testifies to its excellent quality. That is our good fortune, and an asset for the future, provided we know how to preserve that quality.

Now, in a river, it's hardly news that water runs from the hills to the sea. If the  hills are soiled, the whole stream will be contaminated. Establish a mega land fill site in Plouray, and all the downstream abstraction points that supply tens of thousands of households with drinking water will be affected.

Now, a river sometimes pushes its way through steep rocky cliffs and sometimes meanders lazily through flat pastures, creating wetlands where it can spread and accumulate in the wet season. The water that is stored there for a few days or weeks helps prevent or limit flooding further downstream. Tamper with the wetlands in Plouray and it is that much more water that will speed downhill in a matter of hours to flood Quimperlé.

Now, a river is a whole world! If you leave it to its own devices, a whole range of aquatic plants colonise it and it harbours salmon, trout, grayling, lamprey, pike and much else besides, whilst numerous species of mamals and insects, protected or not, colonise its banks and feed on them.

IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE ENSURE THAT THE MASTER PLAN
WILL EFFECTIVELY PRESERVE THE QUALITY OF OUR RIVERS

The public enquiry opens on Monday 2 March and will run till Thursday 9 April 2009.

You can consult the master plan and make a statement in the register in any of the 38 townhalls involved during normal business hours between these two dates.

The investigating commissioner will be available for consultation in the townhalls of Quimperlé, Le Faouët and Plouray at the dates below:

Monday 02 March 2009 from 9.00 to 12.00 in QUIMPERLE

Monday 02 March 2009 from 14.00 to 17.00 in LEFAOUET

Tuesday 10 March 2009 from 9.00 to 12.00 in PLOURAY

Tuesday 10 March 2009 from 14.00 to 17.00 in LE FAOUET

Thursday 19 March 2009 from 9.00 to 12.00 in QUIMPERLE

Thursday 19 March 2009 from 14.00 to 17.00 inPLOURAY

Wednesday 25 March 2009 from 9.00 to 12.00 in LE FAOUET

Wednesday 25 March 2009 from 14.00 to 17.00 in PLOURAY

Thursday 02 April 2009 from 14.00 to 17.00 in QUIMPERLE

It is vital that we all go and make a statement to stress the need to protect the upper reaches of the Ellé against industrial pollution, an inevitable consequence of the mega landfill project. If it goes ahead, the Ellé Isole Laïta SAGE will turn into a sad farce!!!